EAST PROVIDENCE – The Brain Injury Association of Rhode Island’s first online fundraising effort with Macy’s is underway, trading donations for a discount coupon usable in any of the company’s stores running Aug. 10-13.
Faye Zuckerman, head of marketing and communications at BIARI, said the fundraiser, which has tallied a modest $70 thus far, doubles as a vehicle to promote the work of her organization to the wider public.
“It’s more about getting the word out,” Zuckerman said. “Not a lot of folks know who we are and why we are here.”
BIARI was founded in 1983 by families of persons with brain injuries to provide resources, information and access to services for their loved ones. The nonprofit statewide organization is dedicated to increasing awareness of brain injury and its consequences, and providing support, guidance and education for those suddenly faced with both the immediate and long-term effects of brain injury.
The organization collaborates with state and private entities to educate survivors, family members, professionals and the public on all aspects of brain injury prevention, treatment and support needs. In 2003, it opened the Brain Injury Resource Center to improve access to information on brain injury, and to enhance the effectiveness of agencies and service providers who work with brain-injury survivors.
Approximately 12,000 Rhode Islanders will suffer some level of traumatic brain injury this year, serious enough to require a hospital emergency department visit, according to R.I. Department of Health records, Zuckerman said. That doesn’t include acquired brain injuries or injuries treated outside a hospital, or left untreated. Zuckerman said they estimate those injuries would bring the total annual brain injuries in the state to about 24,000.
Between now and Aug. 13, any donation of $5 or more at the fundraising page earns charitable givers up to 25 percent off, depending on whether the merchandise is on sale or not. In the case of a sale item, it could be more.
Macy’s and BIARI are running the fundraiser on Crowdrise.com, which runs additional daily fundraising challenges that could boost BIARI’s fundraising windfall. If, for instance, BIARI were to raise $2,000, it might receive a bonus $200 added to that day’s fundraising efforts, said Robyn Chapman, community relations manager at the organization.
Zuckerman said in the past, Macy’s would run the fundraiser by giving BIARI coupons they would offer to donors, all strictly paper transactions. This is the first year Macy’s has run the fundraiser online.
Last year, fundraisers using Crowdrise.com boosted fundraising efforts by a combined $2 million, Chapman said.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN contributing writer.
